Chittenden County, Vermont
Chittenden County · largest · the capital is a different county
Burlington is a city. It is not Montpelier.
Chittenden is a geographic county and the most populous in Vermont. The shire city is Burlington. The capital is Montpelier, in Washington County. That error is the one this page exists to kill. Lake Champlain is the west wall. The Winooski River cuts cities. I-89 is a road. Towns and cities run schools, police, fire, and trash. The county as a government is still thin: assistant judges, courthouse, county tax, statutory support for the Sheriff.
Municipalities include Burlington, South Burlington, Winooski, Essex, Essex Junction, Colchester, Williston, Shelburne, Milton, Charlotte, Hinesburg, Jericho, Underhill, Richmond, Huntington, Bolton, Westford, St. George, and Buels Gore. Confirm the current list on official sources. St. Albans is Franklin. North Hero is Grand Isle. Middlebury is Addison. Montpelier is Washington.
This page is Side One. The Sheriff’s job is taught at Office of the Sheriff — Chittenden County.
Land — lake, river, intervale, not a capital green
Champlain is a lake, not an ocean. The Intervale is intervale. Camel’s Hump looks at this county and is not a ski-town government. No State House dome here. Staff who write “Vermont’s capital waterfront” are teaching the wrong city.
Politics and law — cities with police, a county with a courthouse
Charters, city councils, selectboards, town clerks. Assistant judges on a four-year clock — different desk from the Sheriff. Many municipal police departments. Confirm county support on 24 V.S.A. § 73. DOC’s Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility is in South Burlington and is still DOC.
Technology, education, outreach
Each city and town has a site. UVM is a neighbor. A student uses municipal employment pages, the State jobs board, or the Sheriff’s official page. Church Street is not a county portal. Milton is not a Burlington neighborhood.
Justice, rights, remedy, relief, service
Crime and fire are city and town, State Police, or a sheriff contract. Civil process is the Sheriff. Prosecution is the Chittenden County State’s Attorney. Rights do not change at the Charlotte line. Remedy for Burlington Police is Burlington. Relief in a Winooski flood is mutual aid plus the State. Service of a paper is still a person at a door in Bolton.
Place snapshot (verify official sources)
- County: Chittenden · State: Vermont · shire: Burlington
- Fact: most populous · not the capital
- Land hinge: Lake Champlain · Winooski River · I-89
- County government: thin · cities and towns run themselves
- Neighbors: Grand Isle, Franklin, Lamoille, Washington, Addison
- Always verify on official municipal sites and sos.vermont.gov
What this is not
- Not Washington County. Not Montpelier. Not the capital.
- Not Grand Isle County. Not Franklin County. Not Addison County.
- Not “Burlington” as a synonym for the State.
- Not a Massachusetts county commission.